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Hollywood actors could strike as soon as Saturday [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2023-06-30
Movie and television actors could go on strike as soon as Saturday, July 1, if negotiations between their union and the major studios and streamers don’t lead to a contract deal—though an extension of the bargaining period is also a real possibility. The members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists voted to authorize a strike before contract negotiations began, signaling to the studios that they, like the striking members of the Writers Guild of America, are serious about improved conditions.
Earlier this week, hundreds of SAG-AFTRA members, including some of the biggest names in Hollywood, sent a letter to their union’s leadership arguing that “what might be considered a good deal in any other years is simply not enough,” and making clear their resolve to strike rather than accept a weak contract. That letter came days after union leaders said that negotiations with the studios had been “extremely productive” and they “remain[ed] optimistic” for a tentative deal despite some remaining issues under negotiation.”
The letter was signed by more than 300 actors, including Academy Award winners and nominees like Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Rami Malek, Mark Ruffalo, Glenn Close; Emmy Award winners and nominees like Quinta Brunson, Patton Oswalt, Kyra Sedgwick, Bob Odenkirk, Kevin Bacon, David Duchovny, and Ben Stiller.
”Solidarity demands honesty,” they wrote, “and we need to make clear our resolve. A strike brings incredible hardships to so many, and no one wants it. But we are prepared to strike if it comes to that. And we are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not.”
The actors reiterated the concerns that SAG-AFTRA went into these negotiations emphasizing: residuals payments that haven’t been adjusted to the realities of streaming; shorter seasons with longer periods between seasons, making existing minimum pay standards inadequate; self-taped auditions that shift effort and expense from productions to actors; and concerns about the use of artificial intelligence. Many of these are the biggest concerns for middle-class actors trying to sustain a living in the industry, but the big names are united with them. The letter concluded:
We want you to know that we would rather go on strike than compromise on these fundamental points, and we believe that, if we settle for a less than transformative deal, the future of our union and our craft will be undermined, and SAG-AFTRA will enter the next negotiation with drastically reduced leverage. This is not a moment to meet in the middle, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of history are on all of us. We ask that you push for all the change we need and protections we deserve and make history doing it. If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines. For our union and its future, this is our moment. We hope that, on our behalf, you will meet that moment and not miss it.
If the 160,000 members of SAG-AFTRA go on strike, joining the more than 11,000 WGA screenwriters who have been on strike for nearly two months, the movie and television industry would all but shut down. The writers' strike has already halted production of many TV shows, but actors going on strike would have an even larger impact. According to Deadline, “Despite streaming execs’ swagger about being prepared for the WGA strike and their ability to weather it, prolonged SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes trigger fear in the hearts of motion picture suits: The Q4 theatrical release calendar would become a desert.” The Emmy Awards could also be a casualty if the studios continue prolonging the WGA strike and force a SAG-AFTRA strike.
Earlier in June, the WGA pointed out that its full list of demands would cost the studios a fraction of a percent of their revenue, while an earlier analysis showed that studio profits rose from $5 billion in 2000 to $28 billion in 2021.
Ahead of their own union’s deadline, prominent actors have continued expressing solidarity with the WGA. Last week, Dermot Mulroney “symbolically” walked out early from a taping of “The View” in solidarity with the writers, and this week, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin sang the Dolly Parton song “9 to 5,” from the 1980 film in which they co-starred with Parton, at a writers picket outside of Netflix headquarters.
“Those in the executive suites are getting bigger and bigger salaries than ever, but actors are getting less and less—just like the writers. They better watch out,” Fonda told the picketers. “If the actors go out with the writers, this industry will be shut down. And we will stand together and hold firm until we all get justice, fairness, and respect.”
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